1. Catherine Wen Hangzhou No. 2 High School of Zhejiang Province
Summarizing
Catherine Wen
Hangzhou No. 2 High School of
Zhejiang Province

2. News title:
Shenzhou 11 Returns
When:
Where:
Who:
What:
2:07 pm Beijing time, last Friday, November 18, 2016
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Two Chinese astronauts, Jin Haipeng & Chen Dong
Reentry capsule landed safely
Last Friday afternoon, Shenzhou reentry capsule landed safely in Inner Mongolia.

3. Summarizing
Summarizing is briefly stating in your own words the main points in a piece of writing.

4. Read the following passage, and add a title.
____________________
by Robert Zimmerman
(adapted by Catherine Wen)
Life
Without
Gravity

5. Gravity
without
with

6. 1. seems exciting but actually difficult
Para. 1 Being weightless in space seems so exciting. Astronauts bounce, float, weave; they do somersaults (空翻) and acrobatics (杂技) without effort. In fact, since the first manned space missions in the 1960s, scientists have discovered that being weightless in space isn’t just flying around like Superman. Zero gravity is alien stuff. As space tourist Dennis Tito said, “Living in space is like having a different life, living in a different world.”

7. 1. seems exciting but actually difficult
2. bodies adapted to Earth’s gravity
Para. 2 Our bodies are adapted to Earth’s gravity. Our muscles are strong in order to overcome gravity as we walk and run. Our inner ears use gravity to keep us upright. And because gravity wants to pull all our blood down into our legs, our hearts are designed to pump hard to get blood up to our brains.

8. 1. seems exciting but actually difficult
2. body adapted to Earth’s gravity
3. body change a lot
Para. 3 In space, the lack of gravity makes the human body change in many unexpected ways. In microgravity, your blood is rerouted, flowing from the legs, which become thin and sticklike, to the head, which swells up. The extra liquid in your head also makes you feel like you’re hanging upside down or have a stuffed-up nose. Worst of all, your stomach gets upset, and you throw up.

9. 1. seems exciting but actually difficult
2. body adapted to Earth’s gravity
3. body change a lot
4. astronauts exercise daily;trouble readapting
Para. 4 To prevent their muscles and bones from becoming too weak for life on Earth, astronauts have to follow a boring two-hour exercise routine every single day. Even after all this exercise, astronauts who spend more than two months in space are usually weak and uncomfortable when they get back to Earth. Jerry Linenger, who spent more than four months on the Russian space station, struggled to walk after he returned. He even had trouble lifting his fifteen-month-old son.

10. 1. seems exciting but actually difficult
2. body adapted to Earth’s gravity
3. body change a lot
4. astronauts exercise daily;trouble readapting
5. success; possible
Para. 5 And yet, Linenger recovered quickly. In fact, almost two dozen astronauts have lived in space for more than six months, and four for more than a year. These men and women faced the discomforts of weightlessness and overcame them. And they all readapted to Earth gravity without problems, which proves that longer voyages to other planets are possible in the future.

11. Gravity without with Para.1: seems exciting, difficult
Para.3: body change
Para. 2: body adapted to
Para.4: daily exercise;
without
Para.4: trouble readapting
with
Para.5: success; possible

12. A possible version:
①Fun as life without gravity may seem, it’s challenging. ②Different parts of human body function well for life with Earth’s gravity. ③A lack of gravity causes many changes to occur, such as rerouted blood, weaker legs, and bad appetites. ④Astronauts in microgravity exercise daily for two hours, but still meet some trouble adjusting back after long missions. ⑤However, their eventual success suggests possibility for longer space missions.

13. To sum up:
Step 1: Come up with a title (main topic) Step 2: Size down each paragraph with minimum words, and analyse their relationship with the main topic Step 3: Connect the dots with your words– Size up! Step 4: Revise and polish.

14. Catherine Wen Hangzhou No. 2 High School of Zhejiang Province
Thank you!
Catherine Wen
Hangzhou No. 2 High School of
Zhejiang Province